My New Brewstand Is Nearly Alive!

[doglet]

After weeks of spending and building I am nearly ready to do my 2nd ever AG on my new outdoor brewstand. This was necessary as my first ever AG resulted in a 3/4 circle burnt on my brother's kitchen lino!! - don't ask!! :blink: The only upside to that episode was the fact that that AG wheat beer managed 2nd in the AABC in 2004.

Anyway my new brewstand has been designed for ease of use and also a few safety features. I think the safety features are a result of my employment in the OHS industry and the fact that I get a little bit nervous when I see some 3 tier gravity setups (not all so please don't flame me). I have also designed it for ease of putting away into the shed. A lot of the design elements have been inspired from this forum and all your experiences.

The brewstand was built in my shed using one of those 350kg/shelf hammerlock shelving kits that you can get from Bunnings. Tools used were a drill, hacksaw, Dremel and rivet gun. During the building stage I made a promise to myself to get some better tools such as a drill press and pedestal grinder plus a dedicated work area when I get my own house!!

You may also notice the use of stainless steel and polysulfone fittings. As I am without wife (but have girlfriend), no kids, no house payments (yet!) I decided that I would spend now so I don't have to later. This stand should last me until I win X-lotto and buy my own microbrewery!

Onto the photos....


The stand setup in the open position for mashing - underletting!

Here it is in the closed position when it comes out of storage. The kettles are placed on those rolling plant stands so I don't have to do too much lifting.

Here is a closeup of the centre hinge arrangement and the locking catch to hold it firmly in the closed position during storage.

Here is my pump arrangement. I am using a March pump and have made a bit of a cover for it using PVC pipe so any splashes don't get into the motor. I also made a waterproof switch box so I have control close by. The pump is mounted onto a milk crate so the switchbox and cords can be easily packed way inside. I am testing this arrangement out as I wasn't sure how I was going to, or if I wanted to, mount it permanently to the stand.

Here is the stand setup for wort cooling minus the hose from the garden tap. I buil tthe CFWC using an article from BYO magazine. THe second photo shows the digital thrumometer I have added.

The left side of the stand has adjustable height legs for any ground surface and castors are used on the other side. The two front castors are lockable to prevent it running away!

Here are the kettles on the stand. I have incorporated a removeable bar that is used to hold the kettles in place. I don't like the idea of a full kettle of hot wort falling over - I got splashed during my first AG and that is the reason I burnt the lino . The bar can be removed after draining most of the liquid so the kettle can be titled forwards.

Here is a closeup of the dial thermometer and tap on the HLT. The second photo is the lid on the top of the HLT.

The only thing I am waiting on now is the burners. Hopefully Globe Imports get them in this week as I can't wait to get brewing! In the meantime I just have to make do!!

Anyway thanks to this forum I am well on my way to my next phase of brewing. I hope to be able to contribute more often with my brewing experiences to help out others.

Cheers
Tim aka doglet

 

[Ross]

Great work Doglet :super: The ingenuity of people on this site never fails to impress...

Been a long wait since your first AG in 2004, so I guess a week or two waiting for your burners won't kill you ...



cheers Ross...

 

[Darren]

Doglet,
Looks the goods.
I would recommend having a "practice" with the pump before brew day. Airlocks in the line can be a real pain in the butt.
Remember, if your pump is on, but not pumping, first turn it off, second make sure your outlet is lower than the vessel you are pumping from. Allow the fluid to run out of the outlet before turning the pump back on. Seems obvious I know. Just thought I should mention it.
cheers
darren

 

[doglet]

Had a little practice with the pump. The vertical barb on the outlet side is used to bleed the air a bit. On brew day I'll attach a tube and any liquid that comes out along with the air will go into a waste bucket.

Will have a full practice during the week moving larger quantities of liquid through the system and get the hang of the cleaning and sanitising procedure.

Can't wait for B-day!

 

[big d]

OHS industry hey.cant wait to see your brewing helmet with face shield.all ag compatible of course
looking good doglet.

brewing without safety gear
big d

 

[Pumpy]

Doglet ,you have a great set up , just a point you have positioned one of your SS ball valves above a vent which the flames will suck up through and overheat your SS ball valves and may well damage the teflon seals in the valve causing it too leak , you may wish to consider extending the distance of your ball valves from the side of kettle with a bit of pipe .

Pumpy

 

[doglet]

Good spotting Pumpy - I was hoping no one would notice! When I got the sockets welded into place I mentioned that I didn't want them in that spot. This happened over Christmas and the owner of the place was involved in a car accident so that detail got forgotten. When I collected the kegs I saw what had happened but didn't say anything. I was thinking about puting a piece of angle iron on the inside rim of the keg and getting my uncle to do a bit of a bodgey weld. Do you reckon that would work okay?

big d - don't jinx my boil overs!!

 

[Pumpy]

That sounds OK you may not need to weld as that bit is below the tank anyway could screw a deflector on it

Pumpy

 

[Tony]

Hey great work..... i love it.

I have been planing on welding up a frame from RHS but that looks echanomical and easy.

With regards to the hole..... i would take it back to who ever did the job and ask them to seal the hole up.

It wont have any effect on the beer.

cheer and well done dude

 

[doglet]

Thanks Tony - I got stung a little bit on the cost of the welding in the first place, or didn't really account for engineering shop labour costs. I think I'll try an alternative.

Welding is one of the skills I would ultimately love to learn but for this I wanted it to be 'easy'. The hammerlock is pretty tight and I used a rivet on each join to prevent anything popping out at an inopportune time.

 

[big d]

quick fix suggestion doglet until you come up with something else.scrunch up some alfoil and push it into the hole.should work a treat

cheers
big d

 

[big d]

forgot.its nice and shiny as well

 

[doglet]

big d - An old footy coach of mine said that to play like a footballer you need to look like a footballer - socks up, clean boots and guernsey tucked in. I've seen more shiny breweries that dirty ones on visits so I thought I'd use a bit of stainless steel cleaner from the supermarket to give everything a once over. Get back to me in a year to see if it's still the same! Almost the makings of a new thread "Brewstands - where are they now?"

Good idea on the alfoil and will give it a try.

 

[Rex]

View attachment 6005View attachment 6006
Here is my pump arrangement. I am using a March pump and have made a bit of a cover for it using PVC pipe so any splashes don't get into the motor.

nice work.... minor issue with the pump, according to the instructions you need to mount the horizontally or the oil will leak out of the bearings and cook it. If you look closely you can see two oil holes on the cylindrical part, they need to face up.

 

[doglet]

Will have to check the instructions again regarding the pump orientation. If it needs to be horizontal I'll just turn the crate over and mount it on the bottom and each brew day just sandwich the crate base with the bracket and a backing plate and a couple of nuts and bolts. Or I could just put the crate on its side as it currently is.